BBC radio host quits over use of racist term in news report

British radio host Sideman quit the BBC on Saturday over the corporation’s decision to include a racial slur in a news report about a racist attack which he said felt like "a slap in the face to our community", reports AP.

In a video posted on Instagram, 1Xtra presenter Sideman, real name David Whitely, said, “with no apology (from the BBC) I just don’t feel comfortable being aligned with the organisation.”

The BBC included the word when reporting last month on a violent attack on a young Black man in Bristol, a city in southwest England. The attackers are reported to have yelled the offensive term as they ran into the 21-year-old with a car.

The victim needed hospital treatment for a fructured leg and other injuries.

The BBC has defended the decision to use the word, saying it wanted to convey the racist nature of the attack and “gave adequate warnings that upsetting images and language would be used.”

More than 18,000 people have complained to the BBC over the broadcast.